The Oil We Eat By Mark Lynas

Humans are facing serious problems due to the fact that we are destroying our planet. The root of our troubles begins with the division of labor. In The Wealth of Nations, Adam Smith claims that the division of labor saves time by “[increasing] the quantity of work,” but most importantly it allowed for the invention of new machines (7-9). The organization of labor along with new technology raises productivity, and this eventually led to the green revolution (c 20 Feb, 2017). The green revolution is the main thing that sparked the problems we are facing at this point in time. In his essay, “The Oil We Eat,” Richard Manning discusses the origins of the green revolution, and what it means for us in the future. He brings to light some of the ways in which this crisis has come about. Farming,
In the book Six Degrees, Mark Lynas discusses, specifically, what could happen, and what has happened because of global warming. Lynas’ detailed predictions help one understand how dramatic our problem is. Lynas claims that a rise in simply three degrees can cause more carbon dioxide to be released (139). This could cause the Amazonian forest to “collapse” (Lynas 138). In fact, in 2005 there was a drought in the Amazonian rainforest that caused an extreme shortage of water (Lynas 140). Another major effect of global warming is the warming of the ocean. Brown suggests that due to the increase in temperature, “polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers” are melting (6). The ocean's’ surface is rising, and this is causing the ice caps to disappear which in turn will cause a decrease in rain in North America (Lyans 151). The current drought in California is proof that this is really happening. The warming of the ocean will also cause sea levels to rise. There has been a 25 centimeter increase in sea levels in New York, and “this rate is projected to accelerate dramatically” ( Lynas 168). These are only a few of the things that can